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She knew Ivan understood and yet she was torn over her mother not telling her and waiting until she returned.
When the curtain moved back, her mother walked in and she was smiling, the aide with her saying, “I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve done yoga and something gives out and down I go. I’ve done it in class in front of witnesses though.”
She wasn’t feeling any better hearing this.
“I tried to tell my daughter this. It happens.”
“All the time,” the aide said. “Your mother is in great shape.”
“For her age,” her mother said. “I know you were thinking that.”
Kendra grinned. She had to remember her mother had a great personality. Though she’d been given a rough hand in life and things were tough for a long time, her mother accepted it and moved on.
Something Kendra was having a hard time doing.
“Are you feeling better now?” her mother asked when they were alone.
“I guess.”
“There is no guessing. Things like this happen all the time to people. People with perfect eyesight too.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overreact.”
“I understand,” her mother said. “It’s been the two of us for a long time. I appreciate everything you’ve done for years. More than a lot of kids would. I don’t need someone to care for me, Kendra. I don’t like feeling like a burden.”
“You’re not,” she argued.
“You don’t think it because we are in a good routine. I want you to remember that. We’ve worked hard to get here so that we can each live our lives. Don’t ruin what you’ve got with Ivan because you feel guilty that your mother was exercising and did this. You should be more embarrassed I could probably hold a plank longer than you.”
She dropped her head down and groaned. The last thing she wanted was a lecture, but she knew her mother was right. And joking while she put her in her place too.
“I get it. I’m sorry I panicked or gave you a hard time.”
“You’re going to need to get under control much better for when you’ve got kids of your own. I thought for sure having to deal with me for over ten years that a simple finger injury would be nothing.”
“It’s not the injury, Mom,” she said.
“I know. But what you’ve got to understand is that I’ve had bruises all over me from when I’ve tripped and fallen in those early years when you were in school. I never told you. I had to learn to move around the house on my own. If you knew, you’d never leave me and that wouldn’t be healthy for either of us.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I could have done this while you were at work. And I wouldn’t have called you at work to come home and get me. Think of it that way.”
“So you’re saying not to make a big deal about this with Ivan?”
“I am,” her mother said. “But something tells me you already did.”
She let out a breath. “I was nervous and upset. I texted him.”
“Which is something you don’t normally do. You’ve never felt like you’ve had someone you could do that with, am I right?”
“You are,” she said.
“So again, don’t ruin it. I’m sure he understands and he’s probably trying to calm you down and all those are wonderful traits in a man.”
“Something Dad never had.”
“No,” her mother said. “Don’t even consider comparing the two.”
